Sir Auros' review of: Air Raid

Name: Air RaidAllegiance: AutobotFunction: WarriorSub-Group: Cyberjet"If you look first, you may not leap."

Fearless tactician with "gung-ho" attitude. Always strives to have fun - even while clashing in aerial combat against the Decepticons! Flies at Mach 2.5 with 1500 mile range. Carries air-to-air heat-seaking missiles. Behavior often considered reckless by fellow Autobots - takes too many chances that can leave him vulnerable.

I love the Cyberjets. I bought the Universe release of Air Raid before I found the original G2 version on ebay, so I knew when I bid on this that it wasn't the best of the three Cyberjet molds. I still bought it because it was cheap and came with another Hooligan that I'll probably put up on ebay or trade to someone. Overall, the Universe version is nicer and you should buy it anyway, but this version's fine if you can get it cheap.

Vehicle Mode:Air Raid's a stealth bomber that's colored more like a real stealth bomber than the other two repaints of the mold. Like all the Cyberjets, the robot in disguise part falls through the second you turn the jet over and look underneath. This mode is sharp, but I'm still not a fan of the stealth bomber look and I hate that they were still using stickers on figures at this point. Black stickers on black plastic rarely works as well as other colors because the two blacks are usually different shades and Air Raid's stickers are no exception to this generalization. It is a compact, fun little alternate mode though, so there's not too much to complain about.

Robot Mode:The G2 version of Air Raid has the same problems as Skyjack (G2 Decepticon version of the mold) and Air Raid. Mainly that the hips simply will not connect to the body the way they're supposed to and the shoulders/neck mechanisms have inferior designs when compared to the other Cyberjets. The hips would have been far better off with pegs instead of trying to align the notches in the hips up with the back and trying to get them to stay put. The arms have limited mobility due to the shoulders, and the mechanism that turns the head and torso around is fragile and contributes to the problems with the hips. You can still get a fair range of articulation out of Air Raid, but not as much as the other Cyberjets and I think this one is more prone to being damaged than the others. G2 Air Raid's paintjob is also very bland compared to the new Universe version. The figure really only has black and a medium shade of blue, whereas the new version has several colors and fists that aren't just colored the same as the rest of the arms.

Transformation: 8 - Air Raid would have been better off using some of the designs implemented in the other Cyberjets and still retained a distinct look.Durability: 7 - The neck mechanism often becomes loose, sometimes falls off, and I lost my Skyjack's head.Fun: 9 - Still a Cyberjet, still quite a bit of fun.Price: 7 - Mine was pretty cheap, but you're really better off just getting the newer, superior Universe version.Summary: 8 - Air Raid just isn't the best of the Cyberjets. It's still better than many other Transformers, but there's definitely much room for improvement.